Eight
"This," she said, once her hair was confined into its usual style, "is the remnants of the Temple of Time. From here, we can do several things, but there are two that need to be done quickly. First and foremost, I need to make sure that Ganon can't be possessed again."
Irritated or not, Ganon felt his heart jump a little; he wasn't sure if it was elation or fear. It was one thing to grudgingly consent to do things her way, but to voluntarily let her put magic on him? On the other hand, if this spell, if she could actually do as she said it would, he wouldn't have to fear facing down the shade.
The idea of him saving the world with his piece of the Triforce was hilarious. Ludicrous. And yet...
Raiha just watched him, waiting patiently. This wasn't a thing she was inclined to play with, there would be no appealing to pride or ego here. Of course, if he didn't agree, she'd be surprised; Ganon had come to highly value his ability to do thing for himself, and while she didn't expect their truce to last beyond dealing with the threat, the fact that he would be able to confront the threat head on would mean something to him.
He gave her a narrow-eyed stare from his seated position.
"You can really do this?"he demanded, low-voiced.
"Mmhm."
"Swear?"
"I swear by the Seven Sages, this is something I can do."
It wouldn't be easy, goddesses no. But she could do it.
"How do you know?"
Raiha looked at him, studied him thoughtfully, then glanced at Link, who was halfway between the two of them. Then sat down with a sigh.
"This is the Temple of Time. Here, anything can be done as long as the intent is pure. You should know that."
Ganon just looked blank. She rolled her eyes slightly, and sighed again.
"All right, fine, history lesson time. This, all of this," and she gestured to their surroundings, also taking in the forest beyond them, "used to be part of Hyrule Castle Town. Heavy stress on 'used to be'. After my first stunning failure, it was decided that having the Temple of Time easily visited by anyone wasn't really a wise idea, so the Sages of the time and I worked to move the Temple to a safer location. Mind you, this all came after my long detour, and the Temple was already built even then."
Link nodded a little, not entirely understanding, but Ganon had a frown of concentration on his face; Raiha wondered if she was jogging some old memories that he'd forgotten or were jumbled up with everything else in his mind.
"I figured the safest place would be the Lost Woods, and at the time, the denizens of the Wood agreed. It was a difficult, pain in the ass task to move everything, but it was the best idea at the time, and my unique... position in the state of things meant that it could be done.
"Through that sealed door is the way into the Sacred Realm."
Ganon drew in a sharp breath. Raiha nodded slightly.
"Yes, this is where the Master Sword rests. Your sword," she said, glancing at Link, who felt a chill run down his spine. "And we'll get it in a moment."
"That will open the door," Ganon said, his voice halting. "We could-"
"No. We don't need to go into the Sacred Realm. There's nothing there that could help us deal with the trials of what's happening now. The Triforce we have, in separate pieces. Ability we have in spades. It's not even useful as a hiding place," and she made a faintly disgusted noise. "It's boring."
Ganon and Link both blinked, and shared surprised looks. That did not go unnoticed, though Raiha did hide her pleased smile; maybe this would not be half as impossible as she'd feared.
"In any case, here is a wellspring of magic, far deeper than anything the shade will come up with. Not even the Royal Family of Hyrule knows specifically where this place is, or even how to get to it. Why should they? They sword is meant for the Hero, not the Princess."
Ganon gave her a narrow-eyed stare. Raiha's smile in reply was thin, almost deadly in its danger, warning him away from voicing the thought that she had been the one to make absolutely certain the Royal Family wouldn't know.
After a moment, her smile relaxed, and she cupped her hands slightly. To their surprise, she actually seemed to come away with a handful of sunlight.
"Pure magic. One of the few places that's left," she said quietly, focused on the shimmering pool of light between her callused palms. "The only place where I can work a miracle. So. Are you in, or would you rather take your chances?"
Ganon hesitated.
"You'll just make me impossible to possess?"
She laughed then, clearly not insulted. It annoyed him because he'd meant for the question to sting, but at the same time... her laugh...
"Red, I can track you with ease, what need would I have to do anything beyond what I've said? The Triforce of Power sings its own song, loud and carefree, and I'll follow that anywhere."
And just like that, his fascination with her ended abruptly. Like hells he was giving up his Triforce piece to her. Still, after a moment he nodded grudgingly, and she got to her feet with a fluid grace that was impressive to watch.
Link scooted back as Raiha walked a small circle around Ganon, watching them both with uncertain curiosity. He could feel the magic of the place, and it was... warm. A little bit like sitting too close to the fire after a while, but not terribly so. And he found himself worrying; Raiha had never performed a large spell in front of him before, but there had been times when her words had been less circumspect, and she had let slip how draining it could be. Was this really as good an idea as she thought it was?
After a moment he gave himself a mental shake and scold. The lady wasn't always the most forthcoming, but she would persevere, and when she thought it was safe, he knew she would explain. He just had to trust her, to keep trusting her, and everything would be all right.
Ganon just kept watching her warily, feeling the build up of magic around him, a swirling web of power. It wasn't Power, but he could feel the triforce piece reacting to what she was doing, and he had to admit, he himself was fascinated as well; this felt like old magic, ancient magic. Which, if she was really as old as she'd hinted...
Raiha began a soft, sing-song chant as she walked, asking, not demanding, for the protection of the pure. Protection for the poor, unlucky bastard that had been possessed for far too long, and still didn't know what to do with himself at times, who only followed her because she was the strongest will he was coming up against at the moment. Coming with because she could poke and prod and coerce his curiosity, his ire, his pride into making him act the way she wanted. Despite his intention to keep watching her, wary for a trap, the high, clear notes she sang lulled him towards complacency, towards calm, and his head lowered a little, eyes going half-lidded.
It reminded him, obliquely, of when the Gerudo had been a prominent race. So long ago now. Their survival in the desert. The... yes, the joy that his tribe of female thieves and fighters had when they were at ease, drinking and laughing over some haul or another. The more subtle, silent joy of a Gerudo woman's belly swelling with signs of pregnancy. The fierce defiant joy of riding out a sandstorm in their stone homes, shielded from the worst of it by the mountain range.
Something slid over him then, cool and smooth. Fluid, like water, like...
He lifted his head, abruptly aware that Raiha had come to a stop before him. The music had ceased, but the magic was there, strong and ready for what she intended to use it for. So why had she...?
His thoughts stuttered to a halt as he met her eyes. Old eyes, tired eyes. Eyes that held the weight of time that had passed, and would never return. Desperation, determination, even a little fear. And underneath it all, the tiniest spark of hope, flickering and guttering like a candle flame. A side-effect of the spell, he realized after a moment, letting him see this much. Or maybe... maybe a choice to trust him more fully?
Raiha just looked at him steadily, her hands slightly outstretched in his direction. The spell was old, and required understanding, at least in some small part, between the caster and the receiver. Ganon had to accept the spell, she couldn't just place it on with without any sort of care the way her cobbled-together spell had been done. So she had to let him see, at least a little, the burden she was laboring under, and the why of wanting him to have this particular protection.
After several long, absolutely silent moments, Ganon slowly lifted his hands and placed them on top of her outstretched ones. The cool feeling surrounded him then, sinking into every part of him; an invisible protection that felt as slippery as ice, and yet malleable. Strong and secure in its foundation. He yipped slightly as the Triforce of Power sparked abruptly, then felt the shield stabilizing at it fed in more energy.
Raiha let out a sigh of relief, withdrew her hands, and stepped back, then wobbled a little; so much magic... goddesses, but it had been too long since she'd channeled that much that freely. It had felt good, but also it was draining. Nor was she done. As Ganon stared first at her, then down in bemusement at his hand where the Triforce symbol was burned into his dark skin, she moved carefully over to Link, who looked up at her with wide blue eyes.
"I'll need to give you the protection too," she said with a faint, weary smile. "The shade has already proven it will abandon its host, and while Zelda is a good hostage, taking you would be... in some ways, far worse. Will you accept it?"
"L...Lady Raiha you..." Link stammered a little, his look concerned.
"It's all right," and her voice was surprisingly gentle. "There's enough ambient magic here to fuel a lot more than just the mental barrier. That's part of the reason why I brought you both here."
She didn't look all right to his eye. Her skin was paler, and her eyes seemed a bit feverish... And he had seen that wobble when she'd stepped away from Ganon. But there was that faint smile on her mouth, a little curve that said she was pleased, she was—dare he say it—having fun, and relaxing. There was almost a touch of mischief in there too, he was willing to swear.
After a moment, Link sighed and nodded a little.
It was Ganon's turn to hitch himself around and watch. For Link, the spell was performed differently; here was no need for a prolonged, semi-soul-baring look when the person in question already trusted her so completely. And trust her Link did, not hesitating in taking the hands that she offered, not flinching when he felt the cool swirl of magic flow into him. Admittedly, he was no stranger to Raiha casting spells on him, which probably helped.
Raiha sagged as the spell was completed, her knees buckling in fatigue. Link and Ganon both lunged forward to catch her, to prevent the fall that was coming, both forgetting a very simple fact; Raiha was magic, and tended to react on instinct a bit herself. So as they moved, she moved, using Faoroe's Wind to move a few feet to the left, leaving the two young men to collide with one another as she flopped gracelessly down onto the grass.
Due to his larger mass, Ganon neatly bowled the would-be hero over. They tumbled for a couple feet, and ended up in a dazed heap. Raiha, tired as she was, couldn't help but giggle. She had apparently adopted a pair of protective idiots. The idea that Ganon could be someone she maybe trusted didn't sting any more, at least. While he'd looked at her, seen what she'd needed him to see, she'd looked right back, and seen something similar.
As the duo untangled themselves, Ganon grumbling irritably about women who cheated and then laughed, Raiha just soaked in the magic that was still hanging in the air. She didn't intend to tap her spirits until the last moment, when her plan fully blossomed into fruition, so she would need as much as she could gather from here before they left.
"...L... Lady?"
"You can dispense with the title, Link," she said a little dryly, half-opening her eyes. "I'm all right. It's been a long time since I did the spell is all."
Ganon snorted a little, back to feeling vaguely irritable about the whole situation. He didn't want to admit he'd been feeling some concern for her when she'd been about to fall, Din's flames, no. Definitely not aloud, much less to himself. So he settled for an irritated stare that Raiha ignored.
"Step two, now that the hard part is over, is getting the Master Sword from the pedestal of time, beyond that door," and she nodded slightly in the direction of the solid stone monolith. "Link, the sword belongs to you and you alone. I can open the door for you, at least."
Link blinked, still a little dazed, then nodded uncertainly, and finally got to his feet. Ganon got up as well, more curious than anything else, and watched as Raiha once more pulled out the Ocarina that he both coveted and loathed. The song she played this time was low, and he felt music and magic reverberate through the entire clearing. The echoes seemed to loop, calling back to a different time, a different era...
The Song of Time. It was almost a memory he could grasp; play the Song of Time to open the Door of Time, to reveal the Master Sword, the final key closing the door between this world and the Sacred Realm. The final key before the Triforce could be-
He forcibly yanked his mind away from that train of thought as the great stone door slid open, and Link hesitantly stepped through. He had a piece of the Triforce, one that had admittedly not done him a whole lot of good, and allowed the shade to perform a great deal of evil. Raiha was, in this instance, right. The Sacred Realm held nothing they needed at the time.
Absently he let his feet carry him over to where she was sitting, flopping down near, but not too near, and waited for her to look at him. She did after a moment, then muttered a few choice words before sliding into old Hylian again.
"Okay, fine, ask."
"That... thing... What was it?"
She snorted a little in fond amusement.
"A skull kid. Rather, the Skull Kid. When young children used to be able to wander into the Lost Woods, they would become Skull Kids, or sometimes Deku Scrubs, after they passed on. Adults would become Stalfos. Also, my friend. We play sometimes."
"Play? Like he played with us? Like you told him to?"
Her grin turned sharp.
"He's part of the test to get through the woods. Be glad I didn't say you were permanent playmates, otherwise you'd have been separated, not to mention good and lost, by now."
He glared at her, which only prompted more sharp amusement.
"Anything else?"
"Reincarnation."
Raiha blinked, cocking her head slightly.
"What about reincarnation?"
"How does it work?" he asked.
"How the hell would I know? The one time I went through it, I was perfectly cognizant pretty much the entire time, and since then I haven't died."
"But you seem to know a lot about it," he pointed out, perhaps a little stubbornly.
Raiha sighed.
"Only because I've watched it happen so much that I've lost count. It gets disheartening after a while, being forgotten. What's worse is that every time they get reborn, their powers are... not lessened, not really, but they aren't what they once were. Zelda always has an innate ability to channel light, but it's nowhere near as strong as it was during her first incarnation as Sage and Princess. Sometimes I wonder if Hylia's soul is as exhausted as I am."
"Hylia?"
Raiha nibbled thoughtfully on her lower lip, then shook her head slightly, regretfully it seemed.
"No time for the long history lesson. Link's got the sword now, and he's taking a moment to get used to it. Let's go with her being the initial incarnation of Zelda, and leave it at that. In any case, as time goes on, and magic drains from the land, it also drains from the people, and every time Zelda is reborn, her power is a little bit weaker, a little bit more diminished. She is still strong in the way that Zelda is always strong, but she is not what she could be. Same with Link. They never remember, either.
"They're never quite the same people, though both are still innately good. Zelda is always a Princess. Link is always someone of lower rank. Sometimes they've managed to get over that and marry, but most of the time the relationship is that of dear friends, a trusted companion who will always protect the other. Neither one has lacked for love, or lovers, in their many incarnations."
She lowered her eyes a little, then hopped to her feet in a surprising show of energy, cutting off Ganon's next question. A moment later, Link appeared in the doorway, looking a little bewildered. He had continued to wear his guard trainee uniform during their travels, but now he was dressed as the Hero was meant to be, in a green tunic and hat that signified the ties of courage to the goddess Farore, with chainmail as his armor. The Master Sword's blue hilt poked over his left shoulder, and he carried his old sword uncertainly in his hands.
Ganon grimaced to see the familiar weapon that had killed him more times than he could count, but refrained from saying anything about it. That sword really was the one thing that could take down the Shade... but was that what she was planning? A straightforward fight? It seemed too... simple. Raiha didn't think in straight lines, she thought in a tangle of squiggles, that only she understood. He wondered where this tangle would lead them all, and if they would survive it.
"Where do we go now?" Link asked as Raiha took the common sword and placed it against the stone wall nearby.
"There's two options. Before we confront Zelda, Ganon needs armor and a sword that will stand up to his strength. The Sage's Sword isn't necessarily my first choice as a weapon for you, but it's suited well enough in the past," and she slanted a glance at Ganon. "And while you're getting the hang of the shield spell, that takes magic, which isn't inexhaustible. So mundane armor will suit as well. The armor is easier to get in some ways, but you'd be doing that part without me. Getting the Sage's Sword requires dealing with whatever is happening in the Gerudo Desert."
"Without you again?" Ganon gave her a suspicious look.
Raiha shrugged.
"I don't do heights. The Occa city..." she shuddered, and Ganon noted that her skin had gone pale. "Too high. Much too high. Besides, there shouldn't be much up there to cause trouble for you. I didn't store the armor in the easiest place to reach, maybe, but it should be there, be safe, and be useable."
Link had a flash of memory then; blue sky and clouds beneath his feet, a terrified hand that held his so tightly he was sure he'd lost all circulation, the smell of citrus and a death grip around his shoulders...
And then it was gone, and Raiha was looking at them expectantly. Ganon hesitated, thinking for a moment, then shrugged.
"Hell, the kid got his sword, I want one of my own."
Unspoken was the thought that he had things in the desert to deal with. His past, mostly, assuming he could even get a straight answer about that.
Raiha nodded a little, unperturbed, and lifted a hand that glowed green with magic. Air rushed around them, and between one blink and the next, they were deposited neatly at the entrance to the Lost Woods.
